Xuan Yuan Mansion.
Xuan Yuan Heng sat in the main seat, his cold gaze fixed on Feng Ran, who was forcibly pressed to her knees on the ground.
Xuan Yuan Heng's eyes landed on Feng Ran, and he let out a scoff.
A mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he said, "Feng Ran, what is the meaning of this?" His eyes were filled with a terrifying aura, and he said coldly, "Are you begging me to spare you? Or are you begging this Prince to spare Feng Jin?"
"After all, Feng Jin has been relentlessly investigating matters concerning you. If this Prince were in a 'good' mood, perhaps I would certainly tell him."
"After all, he has been begging this Prince. This Prince found it quite heartbreaking."
"This person, this Prince found him in a pile of dead bodies. Although he is your brother, Hong Si Lake, these sins are all your doing. Yi is unrelated to him."
"Actually, this Prince had no intention of revealing that you are his elder sister. It's just that I don't know who in the mansion, lacking in self-awareness, said some words, and he heard them, and it seems they registered."
"Feng Jin has been pestering me, and this Prince truly has no choice."
"Therefore, Feng Ran, you must think carefully about what to do."
Xuan Yuan Heng then bent down, his hand gripping Feng Ran's chin, and said ruthlessly, "Feng Ran, you must think clearly. If you do not properly please this Prince, and Feng Jin finds out, then everything will change. By then, you won't even have a chance to regret it."
"Feng Ran, you have already harmed Feng Jin once. This time, do you still want to cause Feng Jin's death?"
Cause Feng Jin's death?
Feng Ran was genuinely terrified. She knew even better that Xuan Yuan Heng was a man of his word.
"Regent, I beg you..." Feng Ran wanted to kowtow and implore Xuan Yuan Heng, but her chin was held by Xuan Yuan Heng, and she didn't even have the opportunity to kowtow.
Xuan Yuan Heng held her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze directly.
Feng Ran's eyes darted away. She was afraid, afraid of meeting Xuan Yuan Heng's gaze. She feared he would see through her thoughts.
Xuan Yuan Heng looked at Feng Ran with disdain. The strength in his hand increased, and he exuded a terrifying aura, speaking coldly, "Feng Ran, besides kowtowing and begging this Prince, what else can you do?"
"This Prince does not want to see that."
"Feng Ran, you should understand what this Prince means."
Upon hearing this, Feng Ran's face turned deathly pale. She didn't want to face it, but now was not the time when her unwillingness to face it would allow her to escape.
Xuan Yuan Heng lifted his lips and said coldly, "Feng Ran, beg this Prince, please this Prince. If this Prince is pleased, I will let you go."
"Regent, I beg you, please spare Feng Jin. He is innocent. Everything is my fault. If you want to punish, punish me, can you?"
"Regent, it's me, it's my fault, I was overconfident."
Feng Ran forced herself to look at Xuan Yuan Heng, uttering words of pleading. She knew Xuan Yuan Heng was humiliating her, but she could only meekly endure it.
Xuan Yuan Heng, however, said nothing, merely looking at her with a mocking, disdainful expression.
Feng Ran's heart felt as though it was being slowly sliced by a knife, bloody and raw.
She could say that she was now living without any dignity.
Xuan Yuan Heng's words had shattered her only remaining conviction.
For Feng Jin, she was willing to do anything.
Feng Ran pleaded for a long time, then suddenly stopped. She looked at Xuan Yuan Heng and said with extreme calm, "Regent, in fact, even if I don't beg you, you wouldn't tell Feng Jin the truth, would you?"
"If you wanted to say it, you would have said it long ago. Why wait until now?"
"You say these things simply because you want to see me make a fool of myself, to see me beg you."
"Just to humiliate me."
Feng Ran said calmly, but the hand hidden in her sleeve clenched tightly, her entire body trembling, exposing her fearful and terrified heart.
Xuan Yuan Heng's face remained expressionless, his gaze still disdainful as he said indifferently, "Yu Wan Yan was killed by you. This Prince should have taken your life. However, this Prince feels that taking your life would be too easy for you. I want to keep you, to humiliate you, to make you suffer for the rest of your life."
"This Prince wants you to know that your life is determined by this Prince, and you cannot have your way."
"The Regent said these words many years ago."
"I already knew, so now I am obediently listening, obediently living."
"Everything is lived according to the Regent's wishes."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuan Heng laughed, a laugh that made one's pores widen and their body tremble uncontrollably.
"Get out. Don't appear before this Prince and be an eyesore."
"If you leave promptly, then whatever you wish for will be granted."
"However, if you are still here by the time this Prince has asked, then what you wish for in your heart is likely to remain unfulfilled."
Without a second thought, Feng Ran scrambled out of Xuan Yuan Mansion.
She looked utterly disheveled, walking down the street, people pointing and whispering.
But Feng Ran paid no mind to them. She was running desperately, trying to escape. She thought that as long as she returned to Chun Man Yuan, she would be safe.
That way, Feng Jin's life would be saved.
Bei Chen Ye approached Xuan Yuan Heng and replied coldly, "Your Highness, the person has already left."
"As Your Highness predicted, those people are all shaming Feng Ran."
"And because of Your Highness's arrangement, although those people are verbally abusing Feng Ran, they dare not step forward and act."
"Hmm." Xuan Yuan Heng took the handkerchief handed to him by Bei Chen Ye and wiped his hands meticulously. He casually tossed the handkerchief aside, where it fell to the ground. As he stood up to leave, his foot directly stepped on the handkerchief, rubbing it forcefully and soiling it completely.
"Burn it. It's dirty," Xuan Yuan Heng said coldly and with disgust.
"Yes, Your Highness." Bei Chen Ye dutifully handled the matter.
Xuan Yuan Heng played with his fan, then picked up the tea by his side, took a sip, and spat it out directly. He asked coldly, "Have the matters you were tasked to handle been dealt with?"
Bei Chen Ye was slightly stunned at first, but quickly replied, "The investigation of matters is nearly complete. However, at the border, it seems someone died while saving Feng Ran."
"That person's identity seems quite noble."
"It's just that that person seemed to have intruded accidentally."
"But in the end, this matter was left unresolved."
Xuan Yuan Heng looked at Bei Chen Ye, seemingly uninterested in this matter. He asked coldly, "How did the poison on her body come about?"
Feng Ran had said before that everything was as he wished, even the poison on her body was as he wished.
But he had never administered the poison on her, nor had he ever known about it.
It was just that when Feng Ran had attributed this matter to herself, he had not refuted it and had gone along with it.